Red Pellet Lab Report

After being incubated in a water bath at 37 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes, the 8 samples were centrifuged at 400 rpm for 5 minutes and collected for observations. Presence of a red pellet in the first 7 tubes, including control Test Tube 1 were noted, while the red pellet was absent in control Test tube 8. It must also be noted that the pellet became progressively smaller as each successive tube was examined, a result more noticeable after examination of Test tube 5, as seen in Figure 1. The transparency of the solution changed in tandem with the colour of the solution. While Test tube 1 returned a clear and colorless solution, as successive tubes were examined the samples became more translucent and a red tint appeared by Test tube 4, growing …show more content…
Test tube 1 contained only 200 μL of Buffer and 50 μL of sheep erythrocytes, of which an additional 50 μL of erythrocytes were added before centrifuging. However, Test tube 8 was of a similar composition except in place of 200 μL of buffer, 200 μL of water were added to the solution. The lysis buffer’s function is to lyse the cell, however, in Test tube 1, without the presence of the appropriate complement the buffer could not break the membrane structure. Therefore this test tube demonstrates the need for compliment in cell lysis, even in the presence of the buffer’s detergents. In Test tube 8 water causes erythrocytes to swell and burst and is an excellent detergent, since it is hypotonic relative to the erythrocyte. The cells will thus swell. Test tube 8 provides an example of complete cell lysis where 100% of erythrocytes have burst, allowing for relative absorbance and percent lysis values to be calculated in contrast to complete lysis. These tubes control for the variance in the amount of cells lysed and the amount of red hemoglobin released from lysed cells, by comparing and contrasting the visual appearance and absorbance values of Test tube 1 and 8 against the